Live from Iona Norwegian Fjords 20th May 7 Nights

[Megabear2]

7 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Just checked the Cruise Personaliser for our next 2 P&O cruises (Britannia July & Iona August) and I have that banner for Iona but not for Britannia. I presume that means that we will be able to pre-book some shows on Iona but not on Britannia.

 

When you say that dining and entertainment options were 24 hours apart, which could you book first? Ideally it would be best to book entertainment first (as it’s at fixed times) and then book dining the next day, as you can then fit dining around the entertainment. 

Entertainment first, then dining.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Heres some photos from my wife's phone from 2 nights ago. Hopefully the right way up!

 

There's some brie hiding under the stilton!!

 

Also look closely at the chocolate dessert and I had  already taken a bite from my wife's plate without her noticing - before she took the photo!! Lol

 

Photos include one of my new Norwegian bought shirts!!

Edited May 25, 2023 by Interestedcruisefan

[Megabear2]

51 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

For tables of upto 8 he said it's very very rare that walk ups upto 6.30pm won't be sat down immediately in Coral  and Pearl

Interesting as walk ups at 6.15 on here are queuing. Some stay in the queue so assumedly go in fairly quick. I leave somewhere between 7.45 and 8 most evenings and there aren't many there - the exception is Celebration Night when there appeared to be a lot when I went in and out. We have our second one tomorrow so will be interesting to compare with the last one.

 

Certainly see quite a few dining pagers in Andersons. 

 

As I'm prebooked and early I haven't experienced any problems but speaking to others they are having problems still particularly if they haven't got or can't use (It's still falling over a lot) the app.

[Megabear2]

ICF you're getting more cheese than we do too ... They must know you're a superstar!

Edited May 25, 2023 by Megabear2

[Selbourne]

6 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Heres some photos from my wife's phone from 2 nights ago. Hopefully the right way up!

 

Including one of my new Norwegian bought shirts!!

Congratulations on getting the photos the right way up at last 😂 Those MDR meals look very nice. Note to self - ask for extra veg! Funny that they give plenty of meat (the expensive part of the meal) but very little veg! Thanks for all the continuing information. All very reassuring for those of us yet to experience Iona. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

2 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Interesting as walk ups at 6.15 on here are queuing. Some stay in the queue so assumedly go in fairly quick. I leave somewhere between 7.45 and 8 most evenings and there aren't many there - the exception is Celebration Night when there appeared to be a lot when I went in and out. We have our second one tomorrow so will be interesting to compare with the last one.

 

Certainly see quite a few dining pagers in Andersons. 

 

As I'm prebooked and early I haven't experienced any problems but speaking to others they are having problems still particularly if they haven't got or can't use (It's still falling over a lot) the app.

Yes I can't comment on Celebration Nights when I realise things can be very different

 

If we do a Celebration Night on Arvia in Feb we will book an early slot to ensure we avoid any potential queues later

 

Perhaps there are guests who actually deliberately ask for a pager to allow them to go away and have a cocktail in andersons for example

 

The 15 minute buffer you get after your table is called allows you the grace to do stuff like that

 

If I wasnt using virtual queues that is how I would manage cocktails and restaurants with a pager. We wouldn't normally want to walk straight into the restaurant without a cocktail first

 

One of us would go and ask for a table and pager whilst the other ordered the cocktails

 

It's all very manageable once you know how everything works

 

It's those first time guests or inexperienced cruisers who I can understand have teething problems figuring out how to make things work for them on board

 

 If my parents ever cruised P and O I would want to be with them on their first cruise to make It work for them and show them for future cruises

 

That's why I tell others who are worried about any aspect to just ask for restaurant managers or guest services help when they first get on if they can't figure it themselves 

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

ICF you're getting more cheese than we do too ... They must know you're a superstar!

And that's without a P on my card! Lol That's cheeseboard for one.

 

I don't order it. Only my wife does. But I just have some of the brie. Coral MDR. On Iona

[Interestedcruisefan]

12 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Interesting as walk ups at 6.15 on here are queuing. Some stay in the queue so assumedly go in fairly quick. I leave somewhere between 7.45 and 8 most evenings and there aren't many there - the exception is Celebration Night when there appeared to be a lot when I went in and out. We have our second one tomorrow so will be interesting to compare with the last one.

 

Certainly see quite a few dining pagers in Andersons. 

 

As I'm prebooked and early I haven't experienced any problems but speaking to others they are having problems still particularly if they haven't got or can't use (It's still falling over a lot) the app.

 

I assume the extra MDRs on Iona make queues almost non existent on her? Even at busy times. I consider us arriving around 8pm ish to be busy time

[Interestedcruisefan]

5 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Congratulations on getting the photos the right way up at last 😂 Those MDR meals look very nice. Note to self - ask for extra veg! Funny that they give plenty of meat (the expensive part of the meal) but very little veg! Thanks for all the continuing information. All very reassuring for those of us yet to experience Iona. 

On the lamb dish on the photo there is actually quite a bit of ratatouile on the left as well that you can't see easily next to the lamb

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

 

I assume the extra MDRs on Iona make queues almost non existent on her? Even at busy times. I consider us arriving around 8pm ish to be busy time

That certainly seems to be the case. Unless I’ve missed it, I don’t believe that there’s ever been the same level of issues with the MDRs on Iona (with 4 MDRs) as there has been on Arvia (with 2). P&O seem to have underestimated the demand for the standard MDR experience on Arvia.

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

That certainly seems to be the case. Unless I’ve missed it, I don’t believe that there’s ever been the same level of issues with the MDRs on Iona (with 4 MDRs) as there has been on Arvia (with 2). P&O seem to have underestimated the demand for the standard MDR experience on Arvia.

And on Arvia I think it's first nights and celebration nights where problems arise as too many people don't quite know what to do

 

If you could pre-book speciality on first night and/or for celebration nights then you remove the risk

 

Plan B - have 6pm ish reservations for Celebration Nights and avoid any queues later

[Megabear2]

13 minutes ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

And on Arvia I think it's first nights and celebration nights where problems arise as too many people don't quite know what to do

 

If you could pre-book speciality on first night and/or for celebration nights then you remove the risk

 

Plan B - have 6pm ish reservations for Celebration Nights and avoid any queues later

Plan B needs to be Plan A for pretty much every night if you want to guarantee you get into your reserved entertainment slots.  Spoken to quite a few who've missed their theatre or whatever as dinner was too late after using the app.

 

The two ships sound like chalk and cheese to be honest.  Considering how many on here are on their 2nd cruise after Iona it must be totally.confusing for them as it all works a very different way by the sound of it.

 

Assumedly ICF now you've enjoyed the MDR you can understand better why people actually look forward to and want to use those restaurants.

[Megabear2]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

That's why I tell others who are worried about any aspect to just ask for restaurant managers or guest services help when they first get on if they can't figure it themselves 

If they can get near guest services, every day big queues of people even with only 3 days to go! A lot go there to book their dining because of the unreliability of the app.   Restaurant manager at Meridian in particular seems to be fighting fires every night, there's been someone irate every.night poor chap.

[Interestedcruisefan]

25 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

Plan B needs to be Plan A for pretty much every night if you want to guarantee you get into your reserved entertainment slots.  Spoken to quite a few who've missed their theatre or whatever as dinner was too late after using the app.

 

The two ships sound like chalk and cheese to be honest.  Considering how many on here are on their 2nd cruise after Iona it must be totally.confusing for them as it all works a very different way by the sound of it.

 

Assumedly ICF now you've enjoyed the MDR you can understand better why people actually look forward to and want to use those restaurants.

My new plan now is to have cocktails

 

Then watch shows (or shows with a cocktails like 710)

 

Then join MDR queue whilst in the show so we aren't rushing anything

 

Apart from Celebration Night which I will have a think about 

 

We just did MDR breakfast. That was a 1 minute virtual queue for Coral. 16 were in the queue for 1 minute. 

 

Nice experience I don't drink coffee but my wife said the coffee was way better than buffet or quays coffee. She's been paying for Costa to take in with her

 

I had a hot chocolate and full English with poached egg plus toast

 

My wife had crushed acoavado with poached eggs and toast

 

Couple next table to us both had fruit salad followed by smoke salmon with poached eggs

 

Couldn't find any faults

 

Zero queues. Plenty of tables at 8.50am

 

 

[Interestedcruisefan]

6 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

If they can get near guest services, every day big queues of people even with only 3 days to go! A lot go there to book their dining because of the unreliability of the app.   Restaurant manager at Meridian in particular seems to be fighting fires every night, there's been someone irate every.night poor chap.

Just need to pick the best times to visit guests services or restaurant manager

 

If you go to the restaurants when busy no chance the manager can help you compared to earlier on or later on

 

They are normally there from 5pm onwards well before they get busy

 

There aren't solutions to most problems easily made 

 

[Cathygh]

2 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

Don't have the  chocolate answer yet but  have some useful info for MDR booking

 

I spoke to the Coral restaurant MDR manager at length last night

 

He said the following:

 

At Coral and Pearl (the 2 bigger MDRS) they personally can take physical reservations for timeslots at any time of night for upto 6 people max at the desk and you can book days in advance

 

For reservations of 7 to 11 people you have to use the virtual queuing app. He can't reserve tables personally for that number. He would show people how to use the virtual queue though

 

For tables of upto 8 he said it's very very rare that walk ups upto 6.30pm won't be sat down immediately in Coral  and Pearl

 

After 6.30pm they should expect to be given a pager

 

They have 2 queues all the time 

 

Having used the virtual queue and seen how easy it is I can't recommend not using it

 

But even for those who hate the sound of using an app for MDR they are really geared up to try to help and accommodate 

 

I think there's way too much fuss made in general about MDR problems that in reality don't exist or can easily be solved simply by speaking to the restaurant managers

 

Who want to help

 

The guy was great to speak to.

 

Anyone with any MDR worries should just make a point of going to MDR manager and asking for best advice and help when they arrive on their cruise

 

And I'm sure will find a solution for their particular needs

 

 

Thank you. As a group of 11 (8 adults, 3 children) we all eat at different times. Half eat at 6, the rest at 8. We are hoping to eat together for celebration night with a compromise time of 7, but it sounds like we need to join the queue at maybe 6.30. I will speak to the MDR manager. We don't know if the children will be in the children's club or not, but they will had the children's high tea. I wish there was fixed dining, it would make life a lot simpler.

I am glad to hear you have been converted to the MDR, it's a much more relaxing experience than the buffet, which is why we have all our meals there.

Edited May 25, 2023 by Cathygh

[zap99]

2 hours ago, Megabear2 said:

Entertainment first, then dining.

We normally go to the 10.30 show, so dinning first.

[Dermotsgirl]

I’ve seen a post from ‘elsewhere’, from a person who is currently on Iona. He is feeling disappointed as ‘all the fancy restaurants and shows are booked up’ and he can’t get in anywhere. He’s also feeling down because he’s aware that other people are going to the ‘fancy restaurants’ multiple times, and he can’t get a look in.

 

I think, a two tier system is evolving, those who know how the app works or those who have the benefit of these boards and can learn how to get the best out of the app before they board.  Then there’s those who didn’t have a clue what to do before they boarded, and for what ever reason can’t get to grips with the app once they are on board.

 

It’s rather like life ashore, when it’s getting increasingly difficult to do anything without personal technology.  

[lincslady]

It sounds as if you can sometimes get into places if you turn up, even if they were supposed to be fully booked.  It is a bit sad to have to think things through so much when you should just be able to go when and where you want, generally.  Really doesn't help with that holiday relaxed mood.

[Dermotsgirl]

1 minute ago, lincslady said:

It sounds as if you can sometimes get into places if you turn up, even if they were supposed to be fully booked.  It is a bit sad to have to think things through so much when you should just be able to go when and where you want, generally.  Really doesn't help with that holiday relaxed mood.

I’m a planner by nature, and in day to day life have a diary system and lists, to make sure everything runs smoothly.

 

However, when I go on holiday, I like to kick back a bit, and not feel as if I have to be quite so organised. I used to book a couple of restaurants before I travelled and also booked any excursions that I wanted to do.  Apart from that, things just generally happened on the day. 
 

I’m getting the perception that, in order to to get the best of Iona, it’s necessary to plan as if for a military operation! 😂

[Selbourne]

1 hour ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

My new plan now is to have cocktails

 

Then watch shows (or shows with a cocktails like 710)

 

Then join MDR queue whilst in the show so we aren't rushing anything

 

Apart from Celebration Night which I will have a think about 

 

We just did MDR breakfast. That was a 1 minute virtual queue for Coral. 16 were in the queue for 1 minute. 

 

Nice experience I don't drink coffee but my wife said the coffee was way better than buffet or quays coffee. She's been paying for Costa to take in with her

 

I had a hot chocolate and full English with poached egg plus toast

 

My wife had crushed acoavado with poached eggs and toast

 

Couple next table to us both had fruit salad followed by smoke salmon with poached eggs

 

Couldn't find any faults

 

Zero queues. Plenty of tables at 8.50am

 

 

Excellent. That’s about the time we go 👍

[Son of Anarchy]

4 hours ago, Interestedcruisefan said:

 

710 club was the band last night.  It was full and they were absolutely brilliant. 4 superb musicians. 2 of them only joined up this week. They were playing and singing new songs together literally for the very first time last night.

 

When we left my wife said for future cruises we need to try and book 710 club every night. It's such a great start to the evening!

 

I was thinking the exact same before she said it

 

I would say it's the best experience on the ship bar none. So intimate. Such great drinks. And so much talent. 

We did 710 Club about 3 or 4 times last year on Iona.  Enjoyed it so much, like your good wife says, we booked for almost every night when we were on  Arvia last month, mostly for 2230.  A bit naughty I know.  Sometimes you've gotta do what you gotta do.  That said, of the bookings we made we only didn't go to two which we cancelled plenty of time before the show.  One evening we cancelled and re-booked for the 00:15 show as there was something on Clubhouse that clashed.

 

Lovely little venue.  Great listening to the how the band plays so many different songs in the way that they do.  Most evenings we sat in the front row.  Order a drink and you're all set up for the show. Most evenings when we did the 2230 show we'd finish off with a trip to the Crows Nest - cabin was on Deck 17 anyway.  Great entertainment.  No bookings for Iona/Arvia at the moment, but the right itinery at the right price, we'll be there giving 710 another go.

 

 

[JeanieC,Aston]

I don’t recognise this Iona from the Iona I went on in March.
Queues everywhere.

Stupid drink ordering system.

Buskers in the 710 club.

MDR food awful (subjective I know)

Service in MDR poor due to understaffing.

 I complained to the MDR manager one night,the service was awful,3 hours for dinner even before the desert,,,,,many people walking out before end of meal.
It was noticeable it became easier to get a table in the MDR as the cruise went on ,,,people just went to the buffet.

Dont get me started on the late night buffet,,,,queues of 30m waiting to get a snack as they would only open one food station.

What did that (unhelpful) manager say……..give me the servers names.

So I gave him the name on his badge,,,that’s me he said.

Exactly I said ‘The buck stops with you fella’

I’m not a wet behind the ears new cruiser,,,I have over 70 cruises under my belt,,,,,but the inability of P&O to manage this big ship is not good enough,it was a shambles.

 

 

[Megabear2]

3 hours ago, zap99 said:

We normally go to the 10.30 show, so dinning first.

I meant booking in advance from home!

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 hours ago, Dermotsgirl said:

I’ve seen a post from ‘elsewhere’, from a person who is currently on Iona. He is feeling disappointed as ‘all the fancy restaurants and shows are booked up’ and he can’t get in anywhere. He’s also feeling down because he’s aware that other people are going to the ‘fancy restaurants’ multiple times, and he can’t get a look in.

 

I think, a two tier system is evolving, those who know how the app works or those who have the benefit of these boards and can learn how to get the best out of the app before they board.  Then there’s those who didn’t have a clue what to do before they boarded, and for what ever reason can’t get to grips with the app once they are on board.

 

It’s rather like life ashore, when it’s getting increasingly difficult to do anything without personal technology.  

I think you are absolutely correct

 

Experienced cruisers on P and O without doubt have an advantage knowing what to do and when to do it

 

I imagine that's  similar most holidays we all go on though. 

 

We learn as we go